Catholic influencer’s matchmaking social media posts lead to new dating app

Jerome and Jessie Jumawan studied at the same Catholic university and, years later, attended the same wedding of a mutual friend. But it wasn’t until they joined a matchmaking post on social media that they connected — and discerned marriage.

“Let’s see what happens. Let’s stay open,” Jessie remembered thinking at the time. “The opportunity, through the post and through that prompting, really helped to unfold maybe what was already there underneath — or what God was working on that we didn’t even know.”

Today, the couple is one of 20 marriages to come from Emily Wilson Hussem’s matchmaking posts on social media. Emily, a Catholic speaker and author with more than 150,000 followers between Instagram and Facebook, began matchmaking posts in 2023 after feeling a “nudge from the Lord.”

The posts — which she once called a “silly idea” — went viral.

“I made a post on my Instagram that said, ‘This is a matchmaking post,'” she said of her first one. “If you’re single and you want to comment about yourself, what you’re looking for, go ahead. If you have a brother or a sister or a friend that you want to write a comment for — and they’re looking for someone great — you go ahead and do that too.”

Now, Emily and her husband, Daniel Hussem, are introducing something bigger: a new Catholic dating and matchmaking app called SacredSpark that is becoming available in the United States one diocese at a time. Later this year, they plan for the app to go international.

The husband-and-wife team spoke with OSV News about SacredSpark and why it is different from other dating apps — including Catholic dating apps — ahead of National Marriage Week (Feb. 7-14), World Marriage Day (Feb. 8) and Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14). After launching in October, their app already boasts tens of thousands of users. Its mission promises to “help build up the Church, one relationship at a time.”

Years before SacredSpark, Emily made her first matchmaking post on social media. She invited singles to connect with one another through the comments — and tag other single people.

“Here goes nothing,” she typed in the caption. “I have never seen this done, but it’s worth it to try to connect wonderful men and women prayerfully in search of a faith-centered dating relationship.”

In the first 48 hours, her post attracted nearly 7,000 comments, she said.

“I had news outlets … calling saying, ‘What is going on here?'” she said. “Because nobody had seen this done before.”

Over the years, Emily continued her matchmaking posts that have led to several marriages and two babies. At the same time, she noticed people running into different problems trying to connect. Daniel said one of the issues was that people couldn’t scroll through all of the comments.

“Even though there’s thousands and thousands of people that have put an entry in, you can only see a subset — a very small subset — of maybe a little over 100, and then the feed would reset,” he said.

They saw that Catholic singles wanted to connect, and they felt called to help. So, they began SacredSpark.

With SacredSpark, Emily and Daniel wanted to create an intentional platform that blends technology and tradition with matchmaking, community and formation for Catholics seeking Christ-centered relationships.

Today, users can download the app for free through Apple’s App Store and Google Play and access additional features with a paid subscription (called Spark+).

The app encourages users to encounter each other as human persons with audio and video introductions. The app hopes to challenge “swipe-culture,” where users swipe through each other’s photos, by partially blurring profiles until a couple matches (although users can always see at least one photo or video of other users). In-app video calling will be available soon.

SacredSpark offers a free “Dating 101” formation series that provides guidance on how to date, communicate, discern and more.

Emily and Daniel also highlighted the app’s matchmaking feature.

“Within Spark+, you can have a matchmaker — and you can invite your best friend or family member to matchmake for you within the platform,” Emily said. “This brings the tradition of setting two people up into this technological age in a way that we want singles to feel seen and supported and loved.”

They recommended this feature especially for singles who may be tired of dating apps.

According to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey, 30 percent of U.S. adults say they have used a dating site or app, including 53 percent of those under 30.

The couple hope the app fosters online connections for offline relationships. In the future, SacredSpark even plans to have an offline component. In March, the Hussems are partnering with national pro-life group Live Action for the app’s first in-person event: a singles mixer and speed-dating gathering in Anaheim, California.

Both Emily and Daniel, who live in Southern California, recognize the challenges of modern dating.

Among men especially, “there’s a fear of rejection, so to speak, and that results in a fear of commitment,” Daniel said. “There’s all these things inside of dating in general, let alone Catholic dating, of just an unhealthy culture of ghosting, of non-committal relationships, situationships.”

Emily said she finds today’s Catholic singles frustrated and, at the same time, hopeful. She pointed to the thousands using SacredSpark.

“We hope that our story can inspire people to think outside the box,” Emily said later. “God is outside of space and time … and he can do anything to help you meet the right person.”

The couple practice a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and SacredSpark’s name draws inspiration from that devotion. When they first met, Emily lived in California and Daniel lived in the Netherlands. Today, after being married for 10 years, they have three children.

“Every night, our prayer is, ‘Lord, we surrender all of ourselves. You take care of everything,'” Daniel said. “That’s what we keep doing with SacredSpark as well. It’s all his.”

From Southern California, the Jumawans spoke with OSV News about how a 2024 matchmaking post by Emily changed their lives forever. When they connected, Jerome, 40, lived in California while Jessie, 39, lived in Washington, D.C.

“I really think this is a unique example of just God’s providence and timing,” Jerome said.

The couple married Nov. 21, 2025. They spoke about the importance of working on themselves and embracing their faith while waiting to meet each other.

“Going through dating and being single for such a long time can be incredibly challenging and stressful,” Jessie said, offering advice for single Catholics. “But if you truly believe that God is good and that you have a vocation to marriage, continue to have courage and persevere.”

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